A giant cause

Geologic cross-sectionOnly a very small portion of the total volume of lava erupted is
visible in the cliffs at Giant’s Causeway. The total thickness
of all the basalt erupted at that time could be as much as 1 km.

Each year, almost half a million people visit the Giant’s Causeway
on the north-east coast of Northern Ireland to see the remarkable rocks.

On the plateau 100 m (330 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean, the rolling plains
flaunt every shade of green. Steep basalt cliffs zigzag into the distance and
the ocean foams along the rocky blocks below.

The Causeway is composed of tightly packed basalt columns crammed together
with their tops broken off. They form a path of stepping-stones leading from
the bottom of the cliff to disappear beneath the swells.

These volcanic rocks indicate a time when the world was very different. What
was the cause? Generally, visitors are unaware that they are looking at some
of the giant, catastrophic effects of Noah’s global Flood.

Giant’s Causeway from Noah’s Flood?

It’s not surprising that people do not see the connection. After all,
the media regularly attacks the biblical history of Noah, claiming the story
is a borrowed myth.1 Causeway brochures say the rocks are 60 million
years old.2 How could events so long ago have any connection with
a story written in the Bible?

Photo by Alistair WylieGeologic marvels in stoneSomeone has estimated that there are 40,000 stone columns. Most
have five or six sides but some have four, seven or eight. Columns are
40–50 cm (15–20 in) across and create a fascinating honeycomb pattern.

But people do not realize that geologists cannot measure the ages of rocks
directly. It’s impossible, because scientists can only make measurements
in the present. Without eyewitness reports, the best we can do is
to calculate an age based on assumptions about the past. Geologists
quote ages of millions of years because they make wrong assumptions. They don’t
believe Noah’s Flood was real, so they ignore its catastrophic effects.
(See ‘Radiometric dating’.)

Once we realize that the dates assigned to the Causeway are not measured
but just someone’s opinion, we can look at the evidence in a different
light. And the evidence of the Causeway points to a large-scale watery catastrophe,
much bigger than anything we see today. It’s consistent with Noah’s
Flood. One indication is the cataclysmic size of the lava eruptions.

Huge volcanic eruptions

The tourist feature called The Organ (pictured below, far left)
illustrates the immense depth of just one lava flow. It is part of
the first of seven lava flows comprising the Causeway Basalts. Only two are
visible in the cliffs here. Astonishingly, Causeway flows are massive, commonly
up to 30 m (100 ft) thick.3

Photo of Anna and Alistair Wylie, by AlistairThe Organ

Photo by Alistair WylieThe Harp and The Chimney Tops

On top of the columns, high above, sits a zone of twisted and irregular rocks.
Geologists call the columns, the colonnade, and the upper zone, the entablature,
with obvious reference to classical Greek architecture.

Columns of the first Causeway flow also form the tourist attraction called The
Harp (left). A second lava flow sits above. In fact, some of the isolated
columns from this second flow stand out against the sky, forming an attraction
called The Chimney Tops.

The first two lava flows of the Causeway Basalts are visible all
around the Causeway in the upper half of the cliffs. They sit above a thin
orange band. Under the band, the cliffs comprise a series of lava flows called The
Lower Basalts.

The basaltic eruptions flowed over more than the area around the Causeway
Coast. Basalt extends over 30 km south beyond Belfast, and 150 km north-east
under the ocean to Scotland (see map, below).4

We see that Giant’s Causeway is dramatic evidence for catastrophic
volcanic eruptions. Basaltic lava gushed out of fissures and holes in the earth
at a tremendous rate. It surged so rapidly that it did not have time to solidify
before covering the land in deep, glowing pools of molten rock.

Water, water everywhere

Evidence of water is another indication that Giant’s Causeway formed
during Noah’s Flood. Water left telltale signs all over the lava flows:5

Molten rock flowing over the flooded land
generated lots of steam. It bubbled up through the bottom of the lava, leaving
long, vertical tubes.6,7

At the top and bottom, water quenched and
shattered the lava on contact, leaving broken rock.8

Rapid cooling of the lava under water produced ‘pillow
lavas’.8,9 They squeezed out like a tongue of toothpaste
and have a glassy skin. Frequently, the hot water chemically changed the
basaltic glass into a soft, yellow-brown material called palagonite.

Soon after each lava flow was emplaced, the
displaced floodwaters returned, flooding over the top of the basalt. The
water circulated down into the cracks, which quickly penetrated deeper inside
the lava. This produced the distinctive twisted columns at the top of the
lava flows called the entablature.5,10

Returning floodwaters also deposited layers
of sediment and vegetation.6,11

The successive lava flows occurred so quickly
that they preserved the glassy top of the underlying lava surfaces.6

Even though the lavas flowed into abundant water, the eruption was so large
and rapid that the lavas were able to flow for huge distances. The effects
of lava-water interaction are particularly evident at the surfaces and edges
of the lava flows.

A different light

Giant’s Causeway involved a large-scale watery catastrophe, much bigger
than anything occurring today. As soon as we clear our minds of interpretations
invented by people who do not believe in Noah’s Flood, we can see the
evidence in a different light. We see that the geologic conditions are consistent
with the world-shattering event described in the Bible—the event that
dramatically affected the course of human history just 4,500 years ago.

Photo by Alistair Wylie

How do the columns form?

The pool of hot lava cools and partly solidifies into rock—starting
at the top and bottom.

Cooling continues and the solidified rock contracts. Star-shaped cracks appear
on the top and bottom solid surfaces.

The three prongs on the cracks grow longer and join, forming polygons, generally
with four to seven sides.

Cooling continues. More rock solidifies. The cracks spread upwards and downwards
forming columns. The columns continue to cool. Their height shrinks and they
break into pieces with ball and socket joints.

Shipwrecks

The idyllic setting on the Causeway Coast betrays the violence and hostility
often experienced there. Exposed to the full force of the North Atlantic, many
ships have met with disaster on the jagged rocks. The most famous is the Girona,
the biggest ship of the Spanish Armada. In 1588, while heading for Scotland,
it ran into worsening conditions, lost its rudder, and foundered at midnight,
with the loss of some 1,300 lives.1

Reference

Radiometric dating

Giant’s Causeway is said to be 60 million years
old, based on radiometric dating. But radiometric dating depends on
assumptions and is not the absolute certainty we are led to believe
it is. Even geologists will accept radiometric dates only if they agree
with what they already think the age should be.

Radiometric dating gives many surprises. Basalts
from Hualalai in Hawaii, observed to have erupted in 1800–01,
gave potassium-argon (K-Ar) ages ranging from 160 million years to
3,300 million years.1 A lava dome on Mt St Helens in USA,
observed to form since the 1980 eruption, gave K-Ar ages between 350,000
and 2,800,000 years.2 Lava erupted from Mt Ngauruhoe, New
Zealand, between 1949 and 1975, gave K-Ar ages up to 3,500,000 years.3 Starting
with appropriate assumptions, there is no reason to reject the biblical
age of about 4,500 years for the Causeway rocks.

References

Funkhouser, J.G. and Naughton, J.J., Radiogenic
helium and argon in ultramafic inclusions from Hawaii, Journal
of Geophysical Research 73:4601–4607,
1968.

Buried vegetation

One striking feature of the Causeway cliffs is an orange bed, which forms
a prominent band in the sheer basalt face. This bed creates a natural bench
and the cliff path follows it around the bays. It is 10–12 metres (30–40
ft) thick and composed of soft, friable, red and brown material. Technically,
it’s called the Interbasaltic Bed—i.e. the bed between the basalts.1,2

The Interbasaltic Bed contains a soft, brown coal called lignite. That’s
simply vegetation altered chemically by heat in a wet, oxygen-free environment.
Traditionally, geologists say this lignite formed over millions of years in
a swampy environment, similar to the peat bogs in Ireland today, but the evidence
contradicts this. Leaves and bark fragments are abundant, as well as pollens
and other tree parts.3 In other words, the vegetation is too well
preserved to have remained in a bog for thousands, let alone millions, of years.

In addition, the trees identified include cedar, pine, spruce, hazel and
alder3—species that do not grow in peat bogs. The evidence
points to water rapidly having washed the vegetation into place. Then heat
from the basalt quickly transformed it into coal.

The bed does not represent a long period of time but rapid burial and energetic
chemical alteration. During a pause in the volcanic eruptions, water flowed
over the basalt and deposited a layer of sediment and vegetation. The next
eruption trapped the water in the sediment, which, together with the heat,
altered the basalt chemically. Once the basalt cooled, groundwater percolated
through the soft material and continued the chemical alteration, producing
a thick bed of soft material.

How did the Causeway form?

As the floodwaters peaked, several months into Noah’s
Flood, thick limestone strata were deposited over large areas of Europe,
including (what is now) Ireland.

Volcanoes erupted as the earth’s crust moved
and ocean basins began to sink relative to the land. Floodwaters started
flowing from the continents. Cracks opened in the crust and lava gushed
out, covering the limestone.

Eruptions paused occasionally and the floodwater
ebbed temporarily, depositing sediment and vegetation on the basalt surface.

Continued eruptions poured more lava onto the surface,
filling depressions in pulses. Surging water quenched the lava lakes,
which solidified into basalt that cracked into long columns as it contracted.

For hundreds of years after the Flood, high precipitation
built thick sheets of ice over the land. The ice retreated at the end
of the Ice Age, exposing the Causeway Coast.

Legend of giants

Photos from www.iona-bed-breakfast-mull.com; www.seaview-mull.co.uk

Across the ocean, the tiny island of Staff, off the west coast of Scotland
(near Mull and Iona), has similar rock outcrops.1,2 It is home to
Fingal’s Cave (pictured). According to local folklore, the Irish giant
Finn MacCool built the causeway so he could cross the sea to Scotland and do
battle with his rival giant, Finn Gall.3 Tourist interpretive centres
usually incorporate folk legends into their literature but are loath to present
the true biblical perspective.

References

E.g. Brown, J., Did Noah really build an ark? news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3524676.stm,
19 March 2004, comments on BBC’s film, ‘Noah’s Ark’,
broadcast on BBC One on 21 March 2004. This film thoroughly refuted by Hodge,
B. and Sarfati, J., Yes,
Noah did build an Ark! 24 March 2004. Return to text.

Lyle, P., A Geological Excursion Guide to The Causeway Coast, W&G
Baird, Antrim, Northern Ireland, p. 51, 1998. The tubes are 5–10 cm
across, up to 20 cm long and filled with a quartz mineral called chalcedony. Return to text.

Readers’ comments

A. Phoebe says that the quote from the geological society has more clout. Isn't 'clout' simply force of power? On that definition, the clout of an opinion depends on your perspective. For those seeking truth, the quote from the geological society has little clout at all as it contains no evidence at all. Thanks for your good work CMI - you have more real clout than 100 geological societies as your words are based on the truth of Scripture and real, objective science.

Tas further to your response. Are you seriously suggesting that the accumulated knowledge of 10,000 Earth Scientists worldwide is wrong and a mere handful of creation geologists are right?

How likely is it that they could all be wrong? And what possible motive would they realistically have? Just claiming atheist plots does not work. I know geologists that are devout Christians who are in accord with the Geological Society of London. Do you not feel you are denying the real majesty of God's creation?

Hi Phoebe, You are the one who has to make up your own mind about what is true. You speak about 10,000 earth scientists, but how many have your read? Are you aware that they are continually debating issues back and forth and that geological ideas are continually changing? That is why there are so many journals dealing with earth science.

So, where do you get your information on this issue? For most people it comes from TV shows, popular magazines and what they are told in class.

I gave you a clue at the end of your previous comment about how you can tell what is true and what is story-telling. It's a powerful tool for you to use. You can decide to just accept what someone tells you on TV, or you can do some digging and research for yourself and make up your own mind.

From the geological soc of london this has more clout!
"This Society upholds the right of freedom of belief for all. The freedom scientists enjoy to investigate the nature and history of the Earth is the same freedom that allows individuals to believe - or not - in a deity.

The idea that the Earth was divinely created in the geologically recent past ("Young Earth Creationism"); attempts by Young Earth Creationists to gain acceptance for what they misrepresent in public as corroborative empirical evidence for this view ("Creation science"); and the allied belief that features of the universe and of living things are better explained as the direct result of action by an intelligent cause than by natural processes ("Intelligent Design"), represent a trespass upon the domain of science.

The Geological Society of London is the oldest national learned society for the Earth sciences in the world, and embodies the collective knowledge of nearly 10,000 Earth scientists worldwide. On their behalf it wishes, during the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth, to place on record the following facts as being long established beyond doubt.
• Planet Earth, along with the other planets in the Solar System, was formed approximately 4560 million years ago.
• Life has existed on Earth for thousands of millions of years. It has evolved into its current form by a combination of genetic variation and natural selection - and is likely to go on doing so for as long as it continues to exist.
• Close study of the structure and organisation of living animals and plants clearly indicates their common ancestry, and the succession of forms through the fossil record, as well as the genetic record contained in every living organism, provides powerful evidence of the reality of evolution."

Just because they say so does not make it true. You need to ask yourself what these geologists actually observed. If they did not observe it then they are just making up a story. In that case you need to check the alternatives. See the article Geological Society of London uses bully tactics. It's important that you are not taken in. Test everything!

speaking as a layman, I did wonder if evolutionists might label the sequence described by tas of the formation of the causeway, as a just so story. was that box section intended as a likely or possible sequence, or presented as the actual causes and progressive order of formation.
interesting article and pics. thanks pete.

Yes Pete. The sequence is a story based on the geological evidence and on the biblical history. It's an alternative to the million-year story told by the geological society. We make the point in various articles that what the Bible says can be taken as fact. What creationist geologists propose as a model is speculative and should be held lightly. It's not the same as Scripture.

Thanks, Mr. Walker, for such a detailed report on this wonder of the Flood. (I almost 'Wonder of Nature'--how firmly evo ideas had their grasp on me before I came to Christ in the early 70's!) You have answered a question that has come up before concerning these columns--did they continue in this shape underwater as well. Now I know--no, they turn to pillow lava. This is why I love your website. You not only deliver such informative articles, but God seems to allow you to anticipate our questions. Great work! God bless!

"Just a little bit of heaven" did not fall "from out the sky one day", but was thrust up in the cataclysmic flood that engulfed the earth as God's judgement fell. "Nowhere else on God's green earth are there such lakes and dells", says the Irish folksong. Isn't the beauty of the basalt formations a picture of our great God's grace in Christ? He gives beauty for ashes; he turns judgement into blessing; Jesus "himself bore our sins in his body on the tree" - the most despicable miscarriage of justice in all history, the deepest humiliation, turned into inconceivable blessing - "that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Tas,
Laterites (red horizons) are clearly shown on your cross-section & several of your photos. Laterites result from surface oxidation, subsurface microbial activity, leaching of soluble elements by soil-waters and accumulation of insoluble elements (principally Fe & Al) in the red profile. They are not known to form in marine environments: or were the floodwaters so very different from current waters?

I hate to be the devil's advocate, but I refer to the following quotation in the article - "But people do not realize that geologists cannot measure the ages of rocks directly. It’s impossible, because scientists can only make measurements in the present. Without eyewitness reports, the best we can do is to calculate an age based on assumptions about the past. Geologists quote ages of millions of years because they make wrong assumptions. They don’t believe Noah’s Flood was real, so they ignore its catastrophic effects." *Note: "without eyewitness reports!"
Then the explanation of the formation of the basalt formations - "Molten rock flowing over the flooded land generated lots of steam. It bubbled up through the bottom of the lava, leaving long, vertical tubes.
At the top and bottom, water quenched and shattered the lava on contact, leaving broken rock.
Rapid cooling of the lava under water produced ‘pillow lavas’.8,9 They squeezed out like a tongue of toothpaste and have a glassy skin. Frequently, the hot water chemically changed the basaltic glass into a soft, yellow-brown material called palagonite.
Soon after each lava flow was emplaced, the displaced floodwaters returned, flooding over the top of the basalt. The water circulated down into the cracks, which quickly penetrated deeper inside the lava. This produced the distinctive twisted columns at the top of the lava flows called the entablature.
Returning floodwaters also deposited layers of sediment and vegetation.
The successive lava flows occurred so quickly that they preserved the glassy top of the underlying lava surfaces"
Has this actually been observed or is it also a theory?
Regards,
Roger Tilley

Hi Roger, You make a good point. The article is a reinterpretation of Giants Causeway within a biblical framework. It uses the same geological evidence but interprets it in a different way. So yes, the interpreted bits, even within the biblical framework, were not observed and so there is a degree of subjectivity about them.

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